Angels Arise
Description Batman version This song is alternately titled "Vespers" or "The Song of Gotham City." Jim Steinman offers this description of the Batman opening sequence, consisting of this song and "Graveyard Shift": "It starts with 'Vespers' coming from the Gotham Cathedral, then into 'The song of Gotham City' which includes, for the first time, the 'Angels Arise' melody (later 'Appropriated & annexed & snatched' for Vampires, where it was wasted. We see the Gothamites fearing the onset of night, pulling those metal sliding 'doors/barriers' down and filling with oncoming terror as a storm approaches. The soprano is a Salvation Army woman on the street in front of the cathedral. Then: 'we rise up' to see the entire panoramic vista of all of Gotham City. And from the darkness, amidst gargoyles and turrets and spires (oh my!), suddenly we see a gargoyle come alive -- its Batman, watching all before & below him. He sings 'The Graveyard Shift', on the Gothic rooftops, a human, watchful, vengeful dark presence. Then he's gone! During his aria, a parade of characters pass by: Selena Kyle/Catwoman, The Joker, various city dwellers and 'villains' we'll meet later on..."http://jimsteinman.blogspot.com/2006/07/midnight-july-20-06.html DOTV version In the American run of Dance of the Vampires, this was the opening song in the show following the overture. In the new plot for the American version, the piece opened with Sarah and her friends picking mushrooms in a gloomy forest in deepest Transylvania three nights before Halloween (a fact repeatedly referred to for comic effect in the show's final script). One of the friends is terrified of the old stories of the creatures of the night, and to reassure each other, they sing this song, characterized by them as an "old Transylvanian prayer" that one of them always said as a child when they were scared. Versions Emily Pulley on a Batman demo recording Demo by unknown UK vocalists for Dance of the Vampires The Dream Engine at various live shows Arielle Murphy & Sheldon Rogers at Steinman Stripped: A Musical Tribute Similar Songs This song shares musical and lyrical elements with "Cry to Heaven" and (in the Vampires version) "Surf's Up" and "Objects in the Rear View Mirror May Appear Closer Than They Are," among other songs that use a similar chord progression. Lyrics Batman version Nox noctis venit Nox noctis venit Tenebrae tenebris involvunt Tenebrae tenebris involvunt Salva nos, domine Salva nos, domine Come midnight's midnight Come midnight's midnight When the dark entwines with darkness When the dark entwines with darkness Save us, O Lord Save us Save us Angels arise As night must fall and Radiant eyes Stare down On us all If the powers that be Be beyond our call Then angels arise As the night must Fall... I can hear the thunder roll I can feel the lightning strike Could a storm be on its way How I wish it would stay light It's so much better in the day Everything seems safe and bright Looks like it's gonna be a dark one tonight! Looks like it's gonna be a dark one tonight! Come, come and cry Cry, cry to heaven Say a prayer and light a candle Toll a bell Come, come and cry Cry unto heaven And if your tears fall on deaf ears then Go ahead And cry like hell Will the sirens never cease Will the fires fade away Gotham City is our home But we fear the end of days From the cradle to the grave From the dawn to the last twilight Looks like it's gonna be a dark one tonight! Looks like it's gonna be a dark one tonight! Angels arise As night must fall and Glorious eyes stare down On us all If the powers that be Be beyond our call Then angels arise As the night must surely, always, always Fall... Nox noctis venit Nox noctis venit Tenebrae tenebris involvunt Tenebrae tenebris involvunt Salva nos, domine Salva nos, domine Come midnight's midnight Come midnight's midnight When the dark entwines with darkness When the dark entwines with darkness Save us, O Lord Save us Save us... DOTV version Angels arise As night must fall and Radiant eyes stare down On us all If the powers that be Be beyond our call Then angels arise As the night must surely fall And for every pit of darkness There's a light so pure divine And I ask you to protect me From those gasps and shudders And those shivers down my spine Angels arise As night must fall and All-knowing eyes Stare down on us all If the powers that be Be beyond our call Then angels arise As the night must surely fall There are things that must be magic There's no explaining Why or how And there's every sign That once-upon-a-time Is starting here And now There's every sign That once-upon-a-time Is starting right here and Now... Category:Songs Category:Batman: The Musical